This invention relates to a step bar for a motor vehicle and specifically for a stone guard assembly for a step bar.
Typically, vehicles designed for off-road use have an additional amount of ground clearance compared to other types of vehicles. The greater ground clearance increases the difficulty of getting into and out of the vehicle. For this reason, it is known to install a side step or step bar to the motor vehicle. The step bar aids a passenger or operator in entering and exiting the vehicle. Step bars can be installed as original equipment by the manufacturer or as an aftermarket item purchased and installed by the vehicle owner.
The increased ground clearance allows the motor vehicle to overcome obstacles and perform better in adverse road conditions such as snow or muddy terrain. However, increased ground clearance increases the amount of road debris and rocks kicked up by the motor vehicle tires and thrown against the body panels of the motor vehicle. Further, although many motor vehicles with increased ground clearance are designed for strictly work applications, off-road vehicles are popular and owned by many operators who may never drive the vehicle off road. Further, vehicles with traditional ground clearance are also susceptible to damage caused by road debris often found on deteriorated roads prevalent in large metropolitan areas. As appreciated, rock and road debris thrown up against the body and rocker panel may cause paint damage and dent the motor vehicle.
Typically, many vehicles include special coatings or paint applied to the rocker panel regions to protect against rock damage. These special coatings provide only a limited amount of protection and only slow the deterioration of paint on the body and rocker panels of the motor vehicle. Further, the deterioration of the rocker panel can create an unsightly cosmetic appearance that is highly undesirable to an operator or consumer who has a significant investment in the motor vehicle. In addition to the degradation of cosmetic appearance of the vehicle, chipped paint caused by rocks and road debris thrown up against the rocker panel can lead to premature corrosion of the body. Premature corrosion of the motor vehicle body and specifically the rocker panel may require significant costly repair.
In addition to the purely cosmetic degradation of the rocker panel of the motor vehicle, rocks and road debris, especially larger rocks encountered in off-road travel, can cause significant dents and damage to the rocker panel. Another significant problem encountered by rocks and road debris being thrown against the rocker panel is the increased amount of noise heard in the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle. As is appreciated, the popularity of such off-road type vehicles has lead to many purchasers of such vehicles using them in non-off-road applications where passenger comfort is a desired and expected characteristic of the motor vehicle. The increased noise emitted into the passenger compartment caused by road debris and rocks being thrown against the rocker panel is therefore undesirable.
Accordingly, it is desirable to design a device installable onto a step for a motor vehicle that substantially prevents damage to the surface coating of the motor vehicle.